Christiania, the “free town”

Recently, The Golden Scope discovered together You two new unusual and little known places. Two nations among the smallest in the world: Seborga Principality in Italy and the island/state of Dominica in the Caribbean.

Today we came back in Europe and more specifically in Denmark, or better, in the Kingdom of Denmark. A modern country with a population of nearly 6 million people, some important historical and natural sites and … hidden in the heart of the beautiful capital Copenhagen… an interesting surprise …

The “free town” of Christiania was founded in 1971 by a group of hippies and artists. It’s actually a special neighborhood with about a thousand inhabitants. After several years of disagreements with the Danish Government, it has been recognized officially and it has became one of the major tourist attractions in Copenhagen.

This self-governing communities is commonly referred to as “free-town”, because the national government has granted it a kind of a “semi-legal” autonomy. At Christiania there are no laws and no taxes, a kind of free port…

Different groups of artisans sell their products directly in the free town shops to tourists but to inhabitants of the capital, too. These latter often love stroll in the streets with multi-colored buildings painted by local artists…there are very nice murales.

In the past Christiania was identified as an infamous place where freely circulating drugs. Over time the community has been able to demonstrate that, as in other northern European countries like the Netherlands, only light drugs are free while hard drugs are absolutely forbidden and banned.

When you are into the free town, immediately you perceive the contrast with the elegant residential neighborhoods that surround it. You are projected into another dimension … cars are banned, only bike! This place intrigues all who visit Copenhagen!

The fundamental principle on which is based this unique community is the collective ownership of the self-managed neighborhood, id est its “population” about 1000 people: craftsmen and artists who are inspired by an outside the traditional schemes environment. This almost surreal atmosphere, in Europe, is possible only at Christiania… the last hippy collective of the world …

T H E V I D E O

(All the photos are taken from Google.com, all the videos are taken from YouTube.com, and all belong to their original owners)